Search past science fair projects

Development of New Beam Configurations for OMEGA To Achieve Highly Uniform Indirect Drive Implosions With Cubic Symmetry

Physics and Astronomy Third Award

In light of the recent demonstration of breakeven on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) using indirect drive, interest in future indirect drive facilities has increased. A promising approa…

Development of Novel Bi-functional Catalyst for LOHCs as Sustainable Hydrogen Storage and Transportation Applications

Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design Fourth Award

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an important goal. Hydrogen is a potential renewable energy source; however, cost-effective storage and transportation of hydrogen pose challenges. In th…

Development of Novel Biodegradable Bioplastics Using Mango Peels Intended for Packaging Film

Chemistry

Implementation of biodegradable, eco-friendly, sustainable bioplastic films derived from fruit peels not only solves the issue of greenhouse gases emitted by disposed fruit waste in landfill…

Development of Oil Collecting Submarine Using AI and Hydro-Filter Solution

Environmental Engineering

Catastrophic oil spills inflict severe harm on marine ecosystems. Conventional cleanup approaches are often inefficient, some resulting in further pollution. In response, I devised a highly…

Development of Persistent DNA Vectors for Safe and Lasting Non-viral Gene Therapies

Scaffold/MatrixAttachment Regions (S/MARs) are specific regions of DNA that help to stabilize chromatin structure and regulate gene expression by facilitating interactions between DNA and th…

Development of Pre-Clinical Assays for Quality Control of Cancer Imaging Agents

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive primary brain tumor, with an average survival of 14.6 months even with treatment. Prior research has shown that a protein, PTPµ, is cleaved in tumor tissu…

Development of Smart Self-Healing Polyurethane Microcapsules Utilizing an Enhanced ZnO/TiO2 UV-Shielding Shell for Spacecraft Applications

Materials Science

Spacecrafts endure harsh environmental factors, such as space debris, thermal cycling, and intense UV radiation that induce the formation of microcracks in spacecraft coatings during long-te…

Development of Water-Retaining Pavement Concrete Using Bamboo Fiber to Mitigate Urban Heat Island Effects

Materials Science

Abandoned bamboo forests pose a significant challenge in Japan, which requires the exploration of innovative applications for this eco-friendly resource. My recent research revealed that tre…

Diagnosing Progressive Supranuclear Palsy(PSP) Through Image-Recognition of the Hummingbird Sign Using Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy(PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects many individuals over the age of 60. Unfortunately, more than 30% of patients with PSP are misdiagnosed as hav…

Differential Empathy, Social Dominance Orientation, and the Limitations of Social Science Research

Behavioral and Social Sciences Fourth Award

Previous research suggests people exhibit an "empathy gap": they feel more empathy for members of their group than for outsiders. I explored whether the empathy gap exists in racial and part…

Differential Mechanisms of LPA1 and LPA4 Receptors in Regulating Cell Migration

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive lipid which can bind to six LPA receptors (LPA1-6) on the cell membrane and regulate various cell activities. Previous studies have shown that LPA1…

Diffusion-Based Conditional Mesh Synthesis for Rapid 3D Visual Design

Technology Enhances the Arts First Award

As digital design has become ubiquitous over the last few decades, 3D creations have become much more advanced through Computer-Aided Design (CAD). However, this approach can be tedious, tim…

Dim Asteroids Discovered! Rapidly Finding and Tracking Faint Near-Earth Asteroids Using an Accurate Deep Learning Based Process

Physics & Astronomy First Award

Discovering the Oncogenic Addiction of CD47 in Breast Cancer

Biomedical and Health Sciences

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a molecular subset of breast cancer defined by a lack of estrogen, progesterone, and the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptors. Currently,…

Discovery of a Polymorphic Biomarker More Accurately Associated with Reduced Chemotherapeutic Metabolism in a Diverse Cohort

UGT1A1 is an enzyme involved in metabolizing Irinotecan, a DNA topoisomerase class I inhibitor chemotherapeutic drug. Polymorphisms within the UGT1A1 gene promoter reduce UGT1A1 mRNA express…

Discovery of New Extragalactic Planet Candidates: A Novel End-to-End Machine Learning Pipeline for Efficient Transit Detection in the X-ray Spectrum

Physics and Astronomy Second Award

The discovery of M51-ULS-1b, the only extragalactic planet orbiting an X-ray Source (XRS), unveiled a gap in our current understanding of planetary formation and evolution. How this planet f…

Discovery of Rs887829 as the Genetic Polymorphism Responsible for Reduced UGT1A1 mRNA Expression in a Diverse Cohort

Biomedical and Health Sciences Fourth Award

UGT1A1 is an enzyme involved in metabolizing Irinotecan, a DNA topoisomerase class I inhibitor chemotherapeutic drug. Polymorphisms within the UGT1A1 promoter reduce UGT1A1 mRNA expression,…

Discovery of Two Potentially Habitable Super-Earths! StealthPlanetFinder: Innovative & Computationally Efficient Algorithms to Detect Exoplanets Overcoming Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Physics and Astronomy Third Award

Since 2010, astronomers have utilized automated algorithms to detect numerous exoplanets that primarily exhibit Medium to High Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) transits. About 60% of potential ha…

Disinfectant Properties of Nuphar advena: An Ethnopharmaceutical Approach

Translational Medical Science

Commonly known as the yellow water lily root or kaandoosh in Ojibwe language, the rhizome of Nuphar advena is utilized by Indigenous communities for treating bacterial overgrowth. This study…

Dissecting Glioblastoma: CRISPR Knockout of Hif-1ALPHA Disrupts Downstream Targets

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 Alpha (Hif1a) contributes to cancer growth in most solid tumors. Because normal cells do not generally require HIF1, it is a potential target. How cancer will adap…

Dissecting NK Cell Profiles at Single Cell Resolution: A Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Across Liver, Spleen, Bone Marrow, and Peripheral Blood

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Natural Killer (NK) cells are an essential component of innate host defense against Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). A central determinant of NK cell function is their tissue residency. I hyp…

Divergent Survival Patterns in Boar Spermatozoa Linked to Oxidative Stress during Prolonged Chilled Storage

Animal Sciences

Artificial insemination relies on viable semen, the maintenance of which in the swine industry is a challenge due to the gradual decline in sperm quality during chilled storage. Previous stu…

Divergent Survival Patterns in Boar Spermatozoa Linked to Oxidative Stress during Prolonged Storage

Artificial insemination relies on viable semen, the maintenance of which in the swine industry is a challenge due to the gradual decline in sperm quality during chilled storage. Previous stu…

DNA Crystallography: Exploring Small-Molecule Interactions With DNA for a Novel Nanoscale Drug Delivery Platform

Materials Science

Nanomedicine is a rapidly growing field, however limited understanding of molecular mechanisms hinders the development of next generation gene-targeting drugs. Ethidium bromide (EB) is a com…

DNA Damage and Repair Mechanism in Duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) Under Ultraviolet (UV-B) Radiation Stress

Cellular and Molecular Biology

In living organisms, DNA is a critical macromolecule; its stability and integrity are vital for the normal functioning of cellular processes, such as DNA replication and DNA repair. Sunlight…

Documenting Native Fauna in an Aquatic Suburban Setting

Zoology Second Award

Does Temperature Affect the Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Within Hydroponic Solutions?

Chemistry

Hydroponics, in which the plant environment is controlled and managed, has been found to be effective in increasing food production. This is extremely important to meet the needs of future p…

DOGMA (Dogs' Oncological Genomic Metabolite Analyzer): Diagnosis of CMTs in Dogs Using a Machine Learning Model

Animal Sciences

Canine mammary tumors (CMTs) represent the most common neoplasia in female dogs. Histopathology analysis is considered the gold standard for classification but is invasive and does not alway…

DoorBully: A Mechatronic Locking System Enhanced by IoT Connectivity and Machine Learning for Rapid School Safety Lockdown Response

Embedded Systems Fourth Award

Over the past two decades, educational institutions have witnessed an exponential increase in school shootings and gun-related threats, marking a prominent need for enhanced security solutio…

Do People Prefer to Drink Bottled Water or Their Homes Water Source in Idaho, and Why

Elijah Carey The goal of this study was to learn what type of water Idahoans drink most and why the choose to do so, in hopes of being able to use this information to help better the local e…